Features

Before it will act, the Wisconsin Supreme Court wants the State Bar of Wisconsin to gather demonstrable evidence that additional regulation of the unauthorized practice of law is needed. The court recently asked lawyers for quantifiable evidence not only of the harm inflicted on the public when nonlawyers practice law but also of the nature and extent of the harm. Members should submit data by Dec. 31.

The author looks at issues of fairness and advocacy when lawyers deal with unrepresented people and discusses the related Ethics 2000 Committee recommendations that are pending before the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

In Everson v. Lorenz, the Wisconsin Supreme Court restated that insurance policies are not "one-size-fits-all" documents, providing coverage for every type of damage. Everson makes clear that misrepresentations in the sale of real property are not accidents, and thus are not occurrences, so that misrepresentations fall outside the scope of coverage provided by occurrence based insurance policies.

Opinions, Voices & Ideas

Hurricane Katrina caused widespread devastation along the Louisiana gulf
coast. Then came Hurricane Rita, bearing down on Texas and afflicting
already devastated areas and their citizens as well. Wisconsin-licensed
lawyers caught in the storms and hundreds of evacuees need our
assistance.

Recognizing the judge's role and preserving an independent judiciary are critical to a democratic society that is based on the rule of law and the fair application of the law to all citizens - regardless of political or religious affiliation, income, social status, or views.

The Wisconsin Ethics 2000 Committee was created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in March 2003 to consider revisions to Chapter 20 of the Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules. The committee submitted its recommendations to the court in summer 2004 and a public hearing was held in February 2005. In view of the responses to the committee's recommendations, the court plans several open conferences on specific proposals - to be held from November 2005 to January 2006 - to further consider the proposals and commentar